Geothermal And Floor Heat?

I will be adding on to my shop next spring, can geothermal be used for floor heating? Addition will be 40 x 64. Any pointers ya got are appreciated. Thanks!

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Re:
Geothermal And Floor Heat?

You can use geothermal for the floor heat. They make combination units that will heat the air and the slab accordingly. I would not recommend it for a shop environment.

You will still need a source of back up heat for extreme weather conditions. If overhead doors are open during the winter the recovery time can be substantial. Even though Water to Water heat pumps are made up to 15 tons, you will not be able to set your shop back very much during unoccupied times due to the recovery time. I would think about a hi-efficiency modulating boiler for this instance maybe. That is what I have in my shop. I have a small Geothermal unit that serves the offices, but the shop floor itself is run from a boiler.

Re:
Geothermal And Floor Heat?

Thank you! This addition will have one large door, 20'w x 15'h so my guess is I will lose a huge amount of heat each time it cycles... Maybe geo isnt a good match for this project. Im just looking for options as I have done the excavation side of some 'slinky' systems and and looking into buying a HDD machine next year so could go that route too...
My father in law has a boiler system for his shop floor heating... Munchkin is the brand name I think. 40x96... Seems like he goes through a lot of LP though. Would love to be able to set up a system that uses geo to keep the temp a constant 50-55 and boiler back-up for the crazy stupid cold Iowa winters... Thanks for the tips!

Re:
Geothermal And Floor Heat?

Then you may be a good candidate for a Water to Water unit. You will still need a back-up heat source such as a boiler or unit heater for extreme weather conditions and if you decide to crank up the heat to do work on equipment and so forth. You will certainly save money over fossil fuels, but sizing is absolutely critical in this application. If there is too great a heating load on the building and the Water to Water unit is not sized correctly, then the unit will be "Spinning it's wheels" and never get shut off nor get the building up to the desired temperature.

Re:
Geothermal And Floor Heat?

Run heat loos / heat gain loads on your space. Find a reputable GeoExchange contractor and check his references. A water to water unit will act as a boiler and heat your floor. Your feild will be another important step. Whether you go vertically or horizontal, again make sure you use someone who knows what they are doing. The field is the heart beat of your system. Also look into the tax credits will can get for a commerical installation.

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